The Saturday Evening Girls Club

A Novel

By: Jane Healey

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

In Boston’s North End, four immigrant women leave childhood behind - but never one another.

For four young immigrant women living in Boston’s North End in the early 1900s, escaping tradition doesn’t come easy. But at least they have one another and the Saturday Evening Girls Club, a social pottery-making group offering respite from their hectic home lives - and hope for a better future.

Ambitious Caprice dreams of opening her own hat shop, which clashes with the expectations of her Sicilian-born parents. Brilliant Ada secretly takes college classes despite the disapproval of her Russian Jewish father. Stunning Maria could marry anyone yet guards her heart to avoid the fate of her Italian Catholic mother, broken down by an alcoholic husband. And shy Thea is torn between asserting herself and embracing an antiquated Jewish tradition.

The friends face family clashes and romantic entanglements, career struggles and cultural prejudice. But through their unfailing bond, forged through their weekly gathering, they’ll draw strength - and the courage to transform their immigrant stories into the American lives of their dreams.

©2017 Jane Healey (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Great Story & Performance

I enjoyed this very much. Some of it was predictable, but it was still a great story. The performance brought the story to life. Recommend this as a coming of age story.

Not my style

If you prefer John Grisham, David Baldacci, and James Lee Burke, this is not your book. This is a story of immigrant girls from a variety of backgrounds growing up together. It has everything a young girl of the past might want in a story. The struggles with family, belonging, being female, and finding love are all there, I am just not interested. However, I finished it and that says something. I listened and read the Kindle version alternately. I found I liked reading it better, but if you read you have to sit still and if you listen, you can walk, drive, or clean house. It wasn't badly written, but I can't imagine it becoming a classic. I would never have chosen it myself. It was a book club selection and I really wanted to attend the next book club meeting. I am female, 68, a former English teacher, twice-divorced, and definitely not a romantic. Keep that in mind when you decide whether or not to accept my verdict.

Absolutely Lovely!! 🥰

A delightfully sweet story about a small group of Italian/Jewish friends coming of age in the New World of America in the early 20th century. The narrator is fantastic (😍), and the whole thing just completely draws you in. Family, romance, independence and the pull of the old world ways vs. the new world. So well done, and highly recommended.

awesome

enjoyed the story of the 4 girls and their challenges and their success in life. The narrator was fabulous.

Beautifully told story!

The narration for this story is incredibly well done. It is a very good story about women learning about who they are and figuring out how to go after what they want.

Absolutely Wonderful!

I love this beautiful story! Four friends struggling to do things different! Beautiful! Excellent performance!

Lovely story with a peek into the past

I love the story of friendship between four girls.I enjoyed the peek into what life was like in early 1900s America for women

delightful

just a delightful story to remind you of your own sweet friendships. and beautifully performed.

A sweet story

This book was slow the first half. However as the story came together it was worth waiting for. Keep reading

characters are well developed

I really enjoyed it. the characters are well developed and the story is sweet and bittersweet. It brought to mind the long relationship with my own friends.